


Makoto Yuuki

by zuttomo



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Confessions, Jealousy, M/M, Misunderstandings, platonic junmako, platonic ritsumao, subahokke but it's slight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2020-07-10 05:47:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19900810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zuttomo/pseuds/zuttomo
Summary: oh.





	Makoto Yuuki

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea how to write Jun so he's probably gonna be occ, but I hope you enjoy nonetheless!

Mao wonders when talking about love started to make him feel so suffocated inside.

Or to be specific, Makoto's love life.

"Let's talk about love!" Subaru exclaims, clinging onto Hokuto. "I for one, love love lovee Hokke!!" planting kisses on his cheek as he makes his declaration of love.

To which Mao simply laughs in response, it's nice seeing Hokuto and Subaru so happy and in love. Even if Hokuto tries to act cold or stoic, you can't deny the happiness Subaru has brought him ever since they started dating, and that makes him happy.

"Stop clinging onto me Akehoshi.." Hokuto begins with a smile, getting Subaru off of him, "Are we not here to talk about the mall on Saturday?"

"That's basically been settled anyway! 2 pm at the gate, and that's that!" Subaru says.

"Ah..can I invite Sazanami-kun?" Makoto squeezes in, to which Mao raises an eyebrow.

_Ah. There's that feeling again._

"That shouldn't be a problem, invite whoever you'd like." Hokuto answers

"Ukki, since when have you and Junjun gotten so close?"

"Mmm.. it just happened I guess? We started talking more and more and all of a sudden we became friends, but he's a really nice friend! He may seem scary but once you get to know him he's pretty sweet!" Makoto replied.

"Hmm.. he's sweet huh?" Subaru teased.

"No, no no it's nothing like that at all!" Makoto seemed to have said in a panic, waving his arms frantically, "He's just a really good friend"

"And in the future, that really good friend will turn into a really sweet boyf-"

"No." Mao interrupted, gaining the attention of everyone at the table.

"..."

"..Isara-kun?"

"Ah, Ahh I kinda blurted out something without thinking didn't I?" Mao spewed out in a panic, "I was trying to say to stop teasing Makoto, but it didn't come out how I wanted it to.."

_My chest is tight, for some reason. I just you guys to stop talking about this._

Subaru just stared at Mao in silence, as if he had realized something.

"Anyway," Hokuto began, "2 pm at the gate, bring whoever you'd like to bring, alright?" 

"Alright!" Trickstar said in unison.

— then came Saturday — 

Mao arrived first, about 45 minutes early at the gate. Ten minutes passed, then 15, then 30.

"I seriously need to get out of the habit of being so early..." Mao said out loud.

"...."

"...."

"Isara-kun!!!" Makoto called out, Mao smiling at him in response.

"Yo Makoto, you're here early aren't you?" Mao asked, patting Makoto on the back.

"Knowing you Isara-kun, you probably arrived an hour before schedule" Makoto laughed back.

"Ahaha you got me... you got here pretty early too? did you have trouble sleeping or something?" 

"No not really, I just wanted to get here a little early, what about you Isara-kun, how did you sleep?" He replied.

"I slept okay... It's just become a bad habit to show up to arrangements hours before meeting time, maybe for some time to think for myself." Mao answered.

"I see..."

Makoto looked as if he wanted to say something, so Mao asked.

"Makoto?" Mao began, touching Makoto's shoulder, "What's up? you look like you want to say something."

"...nnn.. w-well.. about yesterd-"

"Ukki!! Sari!!! we've arrived!!" Subaru shouted out, as energetic as ever, Mao didn't know if he was just saved or if he should be disappointed right now.

"Isara, Yuuki, did we keep you waiting?" Hokuto asked.

"Nah, Makoto just got here," Mao answered, Makoto nodding in response.

"That's a relief to hear then, by the way, Yuuki, where's Sazanami?" He asked.

"I'm right here you know?" Jun answered, Hokuto jumping in response.

"Sazanami! where did you..."

"Ah I just got here, so you don't have to worry or anything," Jun replied with a snicker.

Sazanami Jun.

_He's a bit taller than me, the same height as Makoto to be exact. He really is attractive though, it's no wonder that..._

_Ah, he's talking with Makoto now, and Subaru is looking at me, am I staring? For some reason looking at them feels weird. Makoto is usually so reserved and shy towards strangers, but he got along with Sazanami like that, they clicked. But it's not like he's a bad guy? We've talked a few times and he's pleasant to be around, and he's good looking, this is the second time I've pointed that out? Well, I mean, it's true, and I'm sure Makoto thinks so too. He..._

"Maa-kun." Ritsu said, tapping on Mao's shoulder, "I followed you."

"Ritsu?" Mao replied, honestly in relief, "Why did you..?"

"I was bored at home so I decided to tag along, Maa-kun seemed nervous, so I'm here to cool your nerves." He replied proudly.

"Don't follow me like that, wouldn't it be considered a crime? Well, whatever, I'm glad you came with us, Ritsu" Mao said.

And thus, the group spent the day at the mall, it wasn't awkward or painful, probably thanks to Ritsu being there to distract him. It was honestly fun, and Mao would probably do this sometime again.

Then all of a sudden, it was just Mao and Subaru.

"Huh? Where did everyone go?" 

"Hokke, Ukki, and Junjun went to the game store together, and Ritsu-senpai tagged along too," Subaru answered.

"You don't have to call Ritsu senpai, he's in our grade you know? Plus he hates people being formal towards him, but.. why didn't you go with them?" Mao asked

"Well... I didn't want to leave you alone, and I have something to ask you anyway."

"I see, what's up Subaru?" Mao smiled.

"Sari, you like Ukki."

"...."

"What?"

"Sari," Subaru started, "You like Ukki."

Mao stared at Subaru for a minute, opened then closed his mouth, desperate for something to say.

"Of course I do! He's a precious member of trickstar and a good friend, of course, I like him." Mao replied

"Sari. that's not what I meant and you know it."

"...Ahh, geez.. being interrogated by you is weird and scary you know? If you know there's no point in denying it anymore, but why are you bringing this up?"

"Ever since I made the joke about Junjun and Ukki, and I saw your reaction I realized you know! Ukki doesn't like Junjun, so I'm rooting for you, Sari." Subaru said.

"..Thank you." Mao patted Subarus head in gratitude.

"And and and!!! Ukki definitely likes you too, Sari!!" causing Mao to jump at Subarus sudden shift of mood.

"I... I appreciate it but I don't think he does, I mean, he's so mesmerized by Sazanami and whenever he talks about him his face lights up and-"

Subaru just stared at Mao in disbelief, like he can't believe Mao is so unaware. 

"Sari, you idiot! have you seen the way Makoto looks at you sometimes? Like he's a maiden in love! He's been shooting stares at you this whole time you know?"

"I'm sure that's just because I've been staring at him too.," Mao replies, refusing to give himself the benefit of the doubt.

"..."

"Isara-san?" Jun called out, tapping him from behind.

Mao let out a surprised yelp in response, getting him a weird look from Jun and Subaru just thinks to himself how hopeless this is.

"S-Sazanami? What's up?" Mao stuttered, giving space for Jun to sit down next to them.

"Yuuki-san and the others are about to return so. I left a bit early."

"I see... you and Makoto became friends quickly huh?" _Why are you doing this to yourself, Isara Mao?_

"Oh, it kinda happened I guess?" _Ah, Makoto said the same thing._ "Yuuki-san is surprisingly friendly, and we're somehow alike in some ways, so we became friends that way." Jun smiled.

"He talks about you a lot though, Isara-san, he can seriously go on for hours and hours about how amazing you are, he really cherishes you."

_Wait._

_Wait._

_Wait._

Isara Mao played that line in his head a few times, before finally giving Jun a response, noting how he went blank for a few seconds.

"Ahaha, really? That guy talks about his friends a lot, out of all of us, I think he's the most observant one." Mao smiled back, hoping the fact his face his burning doesn't show.

— 

"Thank you for today, everyone!" Makoto said, "Sazanami-kun and I live this way, so I'll walk with him home."

"Sure thing! and I'll walk home with Hokke!, Sari with Ritsu-senpai too!" Subaru said, holding Hokuto's hand.

"See you guys later," Mao said, cutting things short and started to walk with Ritsu.

...

...

...

"Maa-kun"

"What is it, Ritsu?"

"Was it painful?"

"..."

"If I'm being honest, it was, before you came through." Mao began.

"When I saw Sazanami talking so fondly with Makoto at first, my mind went into a spiral, Subaru that guy, he even figured out that I like Makoto." he laughed

"So, I'm glad you were there with me, thank you for coming, Ritsu." He finished.

"It's no big deal Maa-kun, no matter what, I'll always support you, you know? That's what childhood friends are for." Ritsu said, clinging onto Mao.

"Ah but, Sazanami is a really good guy you know? We talked for a bit while we were at the mall."

"Yeah I know, he's a really good guy, we spent a bit of time together so I'd know too," Ritsu replied

...

After a moment of walking in pleasant silence, Mao wanted to tell Ritsu again.

"Thank you, Ritsu, for being there with me."

"No problem, Maa-kun"

—— 

Then came Monday, and Mao didn't forget Jun's words.

_He talks about me, a lot? Isara Mao, think, it doesn't really mean anything, Makoto gushes about his friends all the time? Doesn't he? If given the chance he could go on for hours and hours, it's not just me, of course, it's not. Ahhh how frustrating! Are crushes this much of a pain in the ass once you acknowledge them? Maybe because in my case it's unrequited? There's no way in hell Makoto could possibly like me back, after all, I've made it pretty clear I just see him as someone I love to watch grow, right? I'm nothing special to like, for sure._

Mao sighs, and is generally out of it all day, it doesn't really show, because Mao has always been good at denying and masking his own feelings, but Subaru can tell, Ritsu can tell.

"Sari, are you okay? You've been kind of out of it all day you know?" Subaru approaches him during practice. 

"Really? He seems to be normal to me, Isara, is something up?" Hokuto asks.

"No, No!! Nothing at all, I'm 100% fine, Subaru can just jump to conclusions sometimes you know?"

"But Sari.. you-"

"Ah, Sazanami-kun's here," Makoto says.

 _"Great, I can't emphasize the phrase speak of the devil enough, isn't this kinda bad?"_ Subaru thinks to himself

Mao doesn't really show any kind of response, "What's Sazanami here for?" He asks.

"Ahh, I invited him to play games with the gaming club after school, since we both like games, I thought it'd be fun!" Makoto answers.

"I see, have fun okay? here, let me help you up." Mao held his hand out for Makoto, helping him get up.

Except, he held his hand for a second too long, and stared for a second too long, because Makoto's starting to sweat a little bit, his face turning red.

"I-Isara-kun, is something wrong?"

"Ah." Mao stutters, frantically letting go "I spaced out for a second, but like I was saying, um.. have fun Makoto!" Mao said, regaining his posture and giving Makoto another touch on the shoulder.

After Makoto left for the game club, the rest of trickstar sat in silence.

"Sar-"

"I'm going to get going, okay? I have student council work to do, so I'll leave the rest to you two." Mao said with his usually charismatic smile.

"Isara.. that guy, is he really going to be okay? well, it's best to just let nature take its course and let him deal with this problem himself, but it's still sad to watch," Hokuto asked, worried about his unit mate, about his friend.

"At one point he'll have to come clean and face his feelings head-on, he can't ignore this forever you know? Hokke is so thoughtful of others!! that's why I lovee you!" giving Hokuto another kiss on the cheek.

"..Yeah, I love you too, Akehoshi." holding Subaru's hand in response.

—— 

"Isara, have you not been out of it today?" Keito brings to his attention, "You don't seem like yourself."

"Ahh.. thank you vice president, but I'm seriously okay, thanks for the concern though." Mao laughed off

"If you don't want to talk about it, I won't pester you, but all I can say is do what you know is right, and don't jump to conclusions," Keito said, patting his junior on the head.

"Please don't treat me like a kid... but thank you anyway, vice president, I'll just give these papers to the gaming club and we're done for the day, good work." Mao smiled.

— 

"Ahh, that was a nice round of gaming!" Makoto stretched, spent after hours of playing games with his friend.

"It really was, thanks for inviting me over, Yuuki-san," Jun replied.

"No, you're the one I have to thank! I don't have many friends who are into games, so I was glad when you took up my request." 

"..."

"Hey, Yuuki-san" Jun started, "I think Isara-san has the wrong.. the wrong idea about us?" 

"What, wait.. what?" 

"Ah don't get me wrong, I like him, he's a really nice, a chill guy, but he seems to stare for a long time and just looks pained when he sees us talking, you like him don't you? I tried to drop hints that we're not a thing, but he just wasn't getting it." 

"So that means, I'll have to tell him myself huh..., thank you Sazanami-kun, I had no idea, really."

Jun let out a sigh, "Ugh, it's fine, it's just I feel sorry watching you- woah!?!?" 

"S-Sazanami-kun!??" Watching Jun trip on the game console, he tried to help him reduce the fall, but ultimately fell with him.

"Ow ow ow... Yuuki-san are you all right? Ah... let me get off of you in a second alright?" Jun asked, noting how he fell on top of Makoto.

"Yeah I'm fine, I'm guessing you're alright too? Here, Sazanami-kun let me-"

drop.

The sound of papers dropping interrupted Makoto, turning in horror, seeing the absolute last person he'd want to catch him in this situation.

Cursing under his breath, Jun quickly scrambled off of Makoto, waiting for Makoto to clear up the misunderstanding.

"Oh."

_Oh._

The only thing that was going through Mao's head, everything else was just blank.

"Oh. um, it looks like I was interrupting something? I, I'll get going now. I just. I just needed to give these papers to Makoto but it seems like I'm in the middle of something so I'll just g-"

"Isara-kun! It's not like that I swear!" Getting up to catch up to Mao, who's started to leave.

"Isara-kun, wait, I know what you're thinking about I promise it's not what y-"

"Makoto, it's okay" Mao laughed, unconsciously ruffling Makoto's hair, touching him like he usually would.

"You and Sazanami are dating, huh? I'm so happy for you Makoto, I'm so glad you found someone"

"T-That's not it! Sazanami-kun just tripped and I tried to support his fall, but I fell with him and, it was really just an accident!" Makoto said, in panic.

_Ahh, I've really messed everything up. Now Isara-kun will hate me and he'll never even take into consideration that I like him and-_

"I see, but I'm rooting for you anyway, you know? I hope everything works out, you're amazing Makoto, so I'm sure he'll return your feelings." Mao said, his eyes starting to shine.

"..What? No, Isara-kun I'm trying to tell you that that's not-!"

"It's okay... it's okay," Mao repeats, "Makoto I, I'm sorry, okay?" with that, Mao stormed off.

Leaving Makoto, alone.

— 

Mao ran.

Even when he was out of the school, he just continued to run, and run, and run.

_Dammit, dammit dammit dammit! Why do I have to feel this way? Why am I going crazy over someone who doesn't even like me back?_

_The boy who when I first met, was helpless, quiet and shy. The boy who's scared of cameras, who didn't kick it off with me from the very beginning._

_The boy who's good with technology, who can do anything he wanted if he put his mind to it,_

_The boy I watched change, the boy who proved to the entire world that he's more than just some useless doll. The boy whose company I took for granted, He's leaving, he's growing more and more out of reach._

_He's expanding his horizons, I have no right to stop him from doing that. I was the dumb one for thinking he would stay by my side forever, for thinking that he would stay the same Makoto that I felt the need to protect. Now he has someone else he cherishes and loves, and there's nothing I can do to stop that._

The more and more Mao thought, the more the tears started to fall down his cheeks.

_But shit it hurts, it hurts, it really really hurts. It feels like the whole world is shutting down on me, like I can't breathe, it's way too suffocating._

_Because I like him, I love him, and I never wanted this day to come, so I repressed and repressed the thought._

_It came back to bite me, didn't it? I can't hide it anymore, I like Makoto._

_I really, really like Makoto. But Makoto is in love with someone else, and I have to support him, I can't be selfish after everything he's done for me._

_Because as long as Makoto is happy, nothing else matters, right? I can get through this, the only one who has to get hurt is me, and that's okay._

_It'll be okay._

With a million thoughts going through Mao's head at once, he ran.

and ran,

and ran until he couldn't run anymore.

— 

"In the end, I ended up crashing at Maa-kun's place after all.." Ritsu said to himself out loud, waltzing in Mao's room until he returned.

"It's not like I don't do this often, so I'm fine, but I wonder what's taking him so long.."

_Maa-kun, he never really talked to me in-depth about his problem with Yuu-kun, so I'm worried. That child, he has a habit of bottling things in until he just breaks, so it's worrisome, very worrisome._

As if someone read his mind, Ritsu could hear Mao's footsteps, approaching his room.

"Speaking of the devil, It's Maa-kun~, Maa-kun, where were you? Ricchan missed you so much." He teased.

To which Mao just stared back at him blankly, as if there was nothing else in the world that could save him right now.

"Ricchan," Mao whispered.

"M-Maakun? Maa-kun, what's wr-"

Mao threw himself at Ritsu for a hug before he could even finish his statement, throwing Ritsu off guard.

"Ricchan...Ricchan.." Mao sobbed and sobbed into Ritsu's shoulder, gripping onto him as if he could disappear at any second.

"...Tell me what happened when you calm down, okay? You're okay Maa-kun, Ricchan is here for you."

"Ricchan will always be here for you."

— 

After having the situation explained to him, Ritsu finally spoke,

"Maa-kun, it's been a while since I've seen you really cry."

"mmm... has it been that long?"

"Mhm, Maa-kun has always been a crybaby, you just know how to bottle up your feelings now," Ritsu answered.

"Maa-kun... you definitely misread everything, and you know you did, didn't you?"

"..."

"...I can never fool you can I... You're right, I was just scared. I was scared of rejection, now I don't know what to do or how to face him."

"And now I've messed everything up, I'm being pathetic right now, aren't I?"

"Makoto said they weren't dating, and that it was a misunderstanding, but even if it was, I'm sure they'll fall in love, and eventually, eventually they'll go out" Mao laughed, wiping his tears.

"That's not true, Maa-kun isn't pathetic. You just can't fathom the idea of someone loving you, and it's sad, it's sad to watch, Maa-kun."

"Ritsu..."

"You know, I've always been worried about you. You'll do anything for anyone because you genuinely like seeing people happy, because you like seeing people smile."

"But because of that, you won't come clean about your own feelings, and I hate to see you suffer, take yourself into account once in a while Maa-kun."

"If you continue to act as if your feelings don't matter, you'll definitely break one day"

"..."

"I've seen someone break before, did you know that? You'll break just like him, like our king. He smiled, smiled, and loved until his heart couldn't take it anymore, and he just broke down." 

"It's terrifying Maa-kun, watching someone slowly break, I don't want something like that to happen to you, because I really do care about you."

"...What's with it with the people I'd least expect to preach to me lecturing me..." Mao started, "Thank you Ricchan, thank you for listening to me, I'll, I'll try to talk to Makoto, it may take some time but I will." 

"♪~ Good Maa-kun." Ritsu hummed, resting on Mao's shoulder.

" Jeez... where would I be without you, Ricchan."

— 

Days pass, then days turned weeks, painful, painful weeks.

It's not like Mao meant for this to happen, he really was going to talk to Makoto and clear things up.

But for some reason, whenever they met alone, face to face, they both just froze. 

It was awkward, anyone could see that. Mao kept his cool, and acted like his usual self as if he didn't sob on his best friends shoulder over a misunderstanding, but you could tell, you could tell something was up.

The atmosphere was stuffy, Makoto acted as if he felt guilty for something, but never tried to initiate a conversation with Mao. Well, he did, a few times, but Mao quickly shut him down.

Thus, the cycle continued for a good three weeks or so, until the bystanders finally had enough.

—

It was a bit later after school, club meetings had just ended, so it was starting to get dark.

Makoto was by himself, ruminating on everything while buying a sports drink.

 _This is my fault, I think. It's probably my fault, no, it's definitely my fault. I like Isara-kun, I've always liked Isara-kun. Since the day he acknowledged me as more than some doll, and I've been slowly falling for him ever since. But he hates me now, definitely. Because I'm an idiot who can't speak up properly and tell my crush that someone is just a friend. I hurt him, I_ could see it in his eyes, I didn't even chase after him.

Sighing to himself he continued to think, _How long are you going to be a coward, when are you going to take the leap of courage, Yuuki Makoto?_

"Yuu-kun." 

Makoto jumped out of reflex in response, relieved to see it was only Ritsu.

"..Ritsu-kun? Is there anything you need?"

"We need to talk. It's pretty urgent." Ritsu answered.

"....?"

After a while, both of them sat down in silence, prompting Ritsu to begin speaking.

"Maa-kun, Maa-kun was crying,"

"Isara-kun was..?"

"He was, it even caught me by surprise, he sobbed and sobbed until he couldn't cry anymore, I was really scared, truly scared." 

"..."Ritsu began, "Maa-kun has always been that way though, ever since we were children."

"When he was a kid actually, Maa-kun was a big crybaby, a huge crybaby, every little thing would send him into tears."

"That hasn't changed, Maa-kun is still a huge crybaby, he just bottles everything in until he can't handle it anymore."

"He gets attached to people pretty easily you know? Him being the people pleaser he is, if he can make someone happy, he'll latch on to them."

"Ritsu-kun..."

"I'll tell you a story." Ritsu continued, smirking.

"When we were kids, out of nowhere Maa-kun came up to me, crying and crying, just as he always would."

"But that time it was different, he just latched on to me, begging me not to leave him, 'Ricchan is all I have' That boy, he really is afraid of people leaving him."

"In all honesty, I have no idea where it came from, I would never leave Maa-kun, the thought has never even come to mind, Maa-kun is just... Maa-kun can just be really insecure about things like that."

"So please, forgive him? He's avoiding you, and we can all tell. He's too scared to face his fears, which is you right now, as much as it may hurt to hear."

"Also... treat him well. I know you both like each other, so you'll probably start dating after this or whatever but... Maa-kun, he's fragile, he bottles everything in, and it's concerning, it's sad to watch. I've seen someone I care about break before, and I don't want it to happen again."

"Secchan, your distasteful Izumi-san?" Ritsu chuckled a bit, "He's had to deal with losing the one he loved the most, that's why he became obsessive over you, he loved our king, and is still in love with him, but by the time he realized it, it was too late."

"I don't want that to happen to Maa-kun, Maa-kun is an amazing kid you know? He's truly the sun, you would know, wouldn't you?"

"That's why, I want you to talk to him, I want you to forgive my troublesome childhood friend." 

"Ritsu-kun..." Makoto began to speak, head spiraling right now.

"Thank you, Ritsu-kun, you're right, the 'Yuuki' in my name isn't there for nothing! I really do appreciate it, thank you, I really do like him so... I'll definitely talk to him tomorrow. I promise." He said.

"Hmm... give it your best, Yuu-kun~ I'll be rooting for you," Ritsu said, and with that, they parted their ways.

"That Yuu-kun, he's a good kid. I can see why Maa-kun and Secchan like him so much." Ritsu said to himself on his way home, under the night sky.

— 

When you say you're going to do something courageous tomorrow, tomorrow feels like purgatory. 

"Isara-kun!" Makoto called out, Mao froze for a second, having Makoto directly talk to him for the first time in three weeks.

"Yo, Makoto, what's up?" 

"Umm...Umm.. 5-5 pm! Meet me at the flower park at 5 pm! I have something really important to tell you." Makoto blurted out.

_Ah._

_Ah. I'm scared. I'm really scared, this is scary, but for Makoto to be the one calling out to me, I've been avoiding this for way too long, haven't I?_

"5 pm, got you Makoto!" Mao smiled, resisting the urge to touch him.

4:00 pm.

Mao is walking to the flower park, while he thinks to himself for a minute.

_Maybe if I wait for about 30 minutes, then back out?_

_That would be okay, right? Makoto wouldn't mind. I don't think... Ugh. Be honest with yourself Mao, you're going to do this, you're not going to back down, I've been way too vulnerable lately, it's not like me at all._

_Subaru has told me time after time these past few weeks I've been worrying him, so has everyone else around me. I can't continue to hurt everyone around me because of some inner battle I have with myself. I'll settle this once and for all._

4:10 pm

When Mao arrived, much to his surprise, Makoto was already there.

"Makoto? I thought you said.. aren't you way too early?"

"Speak for yourself Isara-kun," Makoto began, "I had the feeling that you would arrive insanely early, and that maybe you would've backed out, so I made sure to wait here so that wouldn't have happened.

 _Geh, he basically read my thoughts._ Mao smiled to himself.

...

"I've kinda, I've caused a lot of trouble for you guys the past few weeks, haven't I?" Mao said, with a laugh.

"Isara-kun. I'm sorry, but I have to get straight to the point, I don't want to lose you again, so I'll be straight forward."

"Sazanami-kun and I aren't dating, I don't like him, and he doesn't like me, we're just friends, okay? I swear to you, we're just friends" 

"Makoto, I said it's okay!" Mao laughed, "I know you guys aren't dating, but as I said before, I'll always be rooting for you okay? so you don't have to clear anything with me."

"Isara-kun. you still don't get it? Are you playing dumb?"

"..Makoto?"

"Isara-kun, I'm not falling for Sazanami-kun, I don't like Sazanami-kun."

Mao stared blanking, confused, "Then what are you.."

"I like you Isara-kun, the one I like isn't Sazanami-kun, it's you, I like you," Makoto confessed.

"I thought you hated me for a while, and it was the scariest thing in the world. Getting avoided by you was one of the most painful things I've felt in a while. Isara-kun, please, l want to make things right with you."

_I like you_

_I like you,_

_I like you,_

Mao replayed this in his mind time and time again, and just couldn't contain his feelings anymore, spilling everything out.

"The truth is that I was scared. I was really, really scared Makoto. I thought you liked him, and every time I saw you two together I just. I felt jealous, I'll admit it, I was jealous."

"I thought you were going to leave me and the thought just... I didn't know what to do. " Mao started choking on his words.

"I like you too, I really like you, I love you, so much."

...

Makoto Yuuki did it. He gathered up all his courage, he put his name to use. He didn't run away, he told Mao everything he wanted to tell him, and Mao loves him too. This isn't a hallucination, this isn't one of the nightmares or pleasant dreams he's been having for the past three weeks, this is reality.

Unable to put his emotions into words, he silently pulled Mao in for a hug.

"Makoto..?"

"I love you. I love you, I love you so much, I really really love you."

pop.

It was as if something popped in the both of them, because they're both basically in tears, holding each other close like nothing else in the world matters.

Because as long as they were together, walking side by side, nothing else mattered.

— 

"Ukki, How did everything with Sari go?"

"Hey Maa-kun, how did the thing with Yuu-kun go?"

They both smiled, because judging by their best friends reaction, they knew exactly how it went.

"It went perfectly."

**Author's Note:**

> And that's that! I hope you enjoyed, It may be rushed but I enjoyed writing this quite a bit!  
> As always, constructive criticism is always welcome!


End file.
